


The First of Many

by kimmins



Series: Four Magic Homeless Guys, Their Drummer and a Van [4]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: DrummerWolf, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 04:52:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13264083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimmins/pseuds/kimmins
Summary: Martin is a mother hen. Amanda gets flustered. Martin gets riled up (twice!) and misreads the situation.  But everything works itself out under a tree and the waning moon.





	The First of Many

It was cold when he did it. That’s what Amanda would always remember. His cold hands against her flushed cheeks and warm lips against hers.

 

The weeks leading up to that fateful night was rather uneventful, for the most part. 

 

She, the boys and The Beast had been camped out somewhere up north. They only left to get supplies or to stir up a little trouble for some excitement. Otherwise they spent their time exploring the forest nearby and playing games that usually ended in someone bleeding. Amanda was supplying the boys with enough energy with her attacks, even if they were relatively mild ones. Not that it made them easier to go through.

 

In fact, everything with Martin started after an attack that left her surprisingly drained for how weak it was.

 

Once her boys had fed and her vision had faded, she had tried to sit up and was surprised that she was having trouble doing so. Martin and Gripps had exchanged concerned looks as Cross and The Beast helped her up. 

 

“You ah, ok there Drummer?” their leader asked as he put a steadying hand on her shoulder when she started listing to the side once she was on her feet. His face was very serious and she felt like he was doing more than looking with his eyes at her.

 

She could tell he was pretty worried about whatever it was he was picking up on. 

 

She knew it was in his nature to look out for them all but it hurt her heart just a bit to see him so concerned. So without thinking about it she reached up and gently smoothed the crease that had formed between his eyes with her thumb. “I’m fine,” she said as she absently continued stroking his brow even after he’d stopped frowning at her. The concern on his face had begun to melt but his eyes still looked at her with the same intensity. 

 

The feeling of his hand gently wrapping around her wrist was unexpected. “Drummer,” he said softly as he pulled her hand away from his face. He was looking at her softly with the slightest hint of a smile to his lips but again there was still tension in his eyes. The grip around her wrist stayed loose as he brought his other hand up to brush her bangs back and carefully cup her head. 

 

His hand dragging over the stubble at the base of her head threatened to send shivers down her spine. But that was nothing to the heat she felt as her heartbeat kicked up at the how he seemed to look into her very soul and see every dark secret she had. Sometimes being the subject of Martin’s focus was a little overwhelming. Ok more than a little, if she was being honest with herself.  

 

When he delicately pressed his forehead against hers she could feel heat build in her cheeks even as her eyes fluttered closed. The comforting scent of tobacco, smoke and leather filled her senses and she could feel heat radiating off him. 

 

Amanda was one  _ thousand _ percent sure that those next few heartbeats of physical contact with him were more intense than any she’d had with anyone else outside of sex. And if she was really honest the feel with his callus rough hands gently gripping her wrist and cupping the back of her head; his thumb absently brushing just behind her ear as his breath tickled against her lips, was probably better than at least fifty percent of her sexual encounters. 

 

Her eyes popped open. Thinking about sexual encounters seemed like a bad idea right then. Especially since the way Martin was making her feel was totally putting thoughts in her head about how he could make her feel during a sexual encounter of their own. And those thoughts that were best not thought while a certain emotion sensing energy vampire was trying to get a read on something that was bothering him. 

 

So she tried really hard to suppress them and hoped that Martin wouldn’t pick up on whatever type of energy those thoughts created. 

 

Then Martin inhaled deeply, taking in much more than just her scent and the cold air around them. He exhaled on a growl and his eyes flew open and held hers for a breath before he was quickly pulling away. But not quickly enough for Amanda to miss the way his pupils had been dilated wide enough to almost drown out the blue she was used to. 

 

She stared at him as he put himself at arms length from her, pulling his hands back and dropping her wrist like she had burnt him. And maybe she had if the slight flush creeping up his neck and pink tint to his ears was anything to go by. Before she could do or say anything, he caught her looking and coughed into his fist and looked away. 

 

“Something wrong man?” Gripps asked voice filled with concern for them both. His sudden question startled Amanda, who’d forgotten that anyone else was around. But Martin seemed glad for the interruption and shifted his attention to his his brother. 

 

“You and Cross get Drummer to bed,” he ordered, voice a touch rougher than normal. “She’s not been getting enough rest.”

 

At that he shot her an unamused look. Apparently his caretaker tendencies were enough to overcome his embarrassment, or whatever that had been a second ago, to reprimand her. To be fair to Martin, the two of them had been having a daily argument about her getting more sleep since they set up camp. 

 

He was sure that her staying up with everyone else, even though they didn’t need the sleep she did, and then keeping him and the boys fed was going to wear her down. That she was going to hurt herself or get sick.

 

Of course Amanda didn’t think it was a big deal and would stay up all night with everyone and then ignored Martin’s mother henning when he thought she should go to bed. In the morning she would be tired, grumpy and short with them all until she ate something. Which led to everyone trying to get her to eat all the time. Which drove her nuts but keep the arguments down because she didn’t want to yell at everyone. 

 

Though she was pretty sure Martin was behind the food thing. He probably figured she was at least getting energy from food even if she wasn’t sleeping enough for him to not be concerned. 

 

But now he had proof that he was right. And Amanda couldn’t pretend that the others didn’t agree with him. Gripps and Coss had started up with trying to get her to sleep more over the last day or two.

 

So when they both turned to her and she caught them giving her matching looks of “told you so” she rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips in a huff. 

 

Or at least she tried to. The second her eyes moved the world seemed to fall out from under her and before she knew it both men had reached out to keep her from hitting the ground. 

 

She shut her eyes to block out the swirling shifting world but it didn’t stop the dizziness and there was a wave of nausea that hit her the second she tried to open them. When she groaned there was a mad scramble around her. The sound was a little much for her and she made a noise that everyone seemed to understand meant “stop”. 

 

With her eyes closed the sudden touch to her cheeks was an unpleasant surprise that made her flinch and set off another wave of nausea. There was a very quiet “Sorry Drummer,” from Martin at the small whine she made but he kept his hand on her cheek. 

 

His voice was barely a soft whisper as he asked “Can you open your eyes?” 

 

She answered with another groan. 

 

“Gonna take that as no,” he whispered. Then a bit louder he said “Let’s get her in the van.” 

 

And then the world was moving again and she didn’t like it. “Careful,” came the immediate order from Martin. As they started moving again he quietly barked “Vogel, go get the blankets and shit ready.” She could make out Vogel’s quiet “Sure Martin,” before he ran off toward the van. 

 

The next few minutes were a little confusing and terrible for Amanda as they got her to van. Soon enough Gripps was letting her know with his softest voice that they were putting her down. When she was settled in her nest of blankets she tried opening her eyes. The interior of the vas swam around for a bit. The daylight coming in through the sliding door was a bit too much for her poor head. She must have been able to mumble “Door” loud enough for one of them to hear because it was shut a second later. Darkness filled the van and it was worth the pain caused by the noise of the door closing.  

 

Finally, in the darkness, the world stopped shifting and she let out a sigh. After she was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to be sick if she moved, Amanda shifted around to get comfortable. All the while there were some quiet talking in the background. It sounded like Martin and Cross but it was hard to focus enough to tell. 

 

By the time the voices stopped she had ended up partially on her stomach. When she reached out blindly to try and grab the covers someone pulled them over her. Her thanks was a tired mumble and she pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and tucked her head under. Exhaustion hitting her like a hammer now that she was laying down and comfortable. 

 

It was Cross that answered with a softly spoken, “No problem.” There was a bit of shifting around and Amanda was vaguely aware that two bodies were settling nearby. “Me an’ Martin are gonna stay with you while you sleep. That ok?” Cross asked, letting her know who the two people around her were. 

 

All she could manage before sleep overtook her was sleepy hum of acceptance. 

 

What felt like days later Amanda woke up with a dry mouth and a slight crick in her neck. The others were piled in around her and it was too warm in the van. 

 

Her head hurt a little bit and she needed a drink of water so she carefully untangled herself from The Beast and Vogel’s legs, climbed over Gripps’s bulk and out the open door at the back of the van. 

 

The cold of the night hit her like a punch to the gut. It felt so much colder after the heat of the van and she shivered a bit as she made her way around the van to where they had set up their firepit. They kept one of the coolers close by and it should have some water for her to drink.  

 

Walking past the dying fire directly to the cooler she completely missed the figure sitting in the dark watching her, the dying light reflecting off his glasses. He didn’t say anything as she pulled out a bottle of water and downed half of it in one go. Nor did he say anything as she turned to face the fire and yelped as she finally noticed him there.

 

He did smile one of his wolfish smiles at her and it was all the more effective in the light of the dying fire. Amanda blushed at being caught unawares and at his stupid smile. She tried to ignore the way he was looking at her as she walked over to where he was sitting. 

 

He took a swig of his beer before asking “What’cha doing up Drummer?” His tone a little flat. He didn’t seem too happy that she was awake and walking around. 

 

But she felt fine so she leveled a hard glare at him from where she was standing.”I could ask you the same thing. Seems a bit hypocritical that you ride my ass about not staying up late when here you are.” She motioned around, “Sitting in the dark like a moody bastard.”

 

He grimaced at her words but didn’t argue. “Hm. Sit.” He nodded at the seat next to him and she took it. They sat there in silence for a while. Neither wanting to say anything yet. 

 

But it was cold. Amanda wasn’t used to it yet and the fire was almost out. So the only warmth came from Martin. It was easy to just casually lean over and rest against him. She felt more than saw him look over at her in slight surprise. It was a moment later that he relaxed and let out a small sound of happiness. It reminded her so much of when she’d hugged him in Wendimoor that she smiled and pressed a little closer to him. 

 

The heat of him made her all the more aware of the cold and she shivered. Again he looked over at her before shifting his beer to his right hand and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. The weight of his arm around her coupled with the way her nose was suddenly filled with the smell of him had memories from earlier flooding her mind. She tried really hard not to think about how she’d felt when he’d held her close and breathed her in. 

 

Of course the second she tried not to think about it, it was all she could think about. 

 

And Martin seemed to pick up on  _ something _ because he shifted in his seat a little but didn’t pull away. In fact it felt like he pulled her even closer. Held her a little tighter. 

 

Amanda sighed. And not a normal ‘this is nice’ kind of sigh. This sigh was reserved for a much more intimate situation than two friends cuddling to keep warm. The next thing she knew, Martin was growling “Drummer,” in a low, rough register that she’d never heard from him before. 

 

Any cold she felt before was burned away in an instant. His voice sounding like  _ that _ made heat pool low in her belly and she felt distinctly overheated all of a sudden. There was no missing his follow up growl. It was a wordless sound of want that rumbled in his chest and vibrated through Amanda where she was curled against him. 

 

When she felt him start to nuzzle his nose against her ear, breath still rumbling, she jumped. 

 

Neither of them had really said anything about the simmering attraction that had been building between them and for once Amanda was gonna be an adult and put on the breaks. As much as she totally wanted what he was after, what lay down that dark and dirty path was best not rushed into. 

 

So with a hasty clearing of her throat she put a little distance between them and asked, “Wh-what were you doing out here anyway?” Her voice was a little shaky but she managed to get the question out. 

 

Martin went still the second she pulled away from him and suddenly the arm around her, that had felt so comforting and nice before, felt like a dead weight draped on her shoulders. She could feel his breath against her bare arm and when she looked over at him his breathing a little rough but other than that he was eerily still. As her eyes traced over his face she noticed the poor man’s eyes were pinched closed and his jaw clenched painfully tight. 

 

Then, very slowly, as if he was wary of spooking her, he drew his arm back and Amanda watched as he pulled back into himself.

 

He sat with head hanging between his shoulders, looking down at his hands as they gripped the beer bottle he still held. His breathing started to slow and he let out a shaky sigh that seemed to make him sink into himself.

 

Without looking at her, a deflated Martin mumbled “Sorry Drummer,” in a quiet voice.

 

It was so quiet, she wasn’t sure she’d heard it. But she couldn’t deny they way he looked at her with a pained expression when she didn’t respond. If she had hurt earlier when he looked at her with concern it was nothing compared to how much it hurt to see him look at her now. There was real pain on his face as he looked at her and waited.

 

Before she could say anything he was looking away. His focus off into the distance, he huffed a sardonic laugh and shook his head. Amanda was surprised at how rough and wet his voice was when he said, “I thought…” he shook his head again. “Doesn’t matter what I thought.” 

 

Again, before she could say or do anything he was reacting. 

 

He stood up, looked down at her, his face still pained, and said “You should go back to bed.” He waited there for a second, looking at her with that sad face and again she felt like he was looking at her with more than just his eyes. After a moment he shook his head as if to clear it, took one last drink of his beer before throwing it into the cold fire pit and walked off into the dark forest, leaving Amanda alone in the cold.

 

For several moments she just watched as he disappeared into the darkness. But once he was gone her brain kicked into gear. “What just happened?” she asked herself as her body started reacting to the cold again. 

 

Wrapping her arms around her to try and keep some of her body heat, she thought through the events of the last few minutes. She was shivering pretty bad by the time she got to the point where she’d pulled back from him so they could slow down and not jump into anything they might regret later. But then he’d reactated like she hadn’t wanted him to-- Her thoughts came to a stand still. 

 

Of course. That stupid man. Amanda growled to herself as she stood and took off in the direction Martin had wandered off in. 

 

It took her awhile to find him in the dark even with the moon out but eventually she caught sight of him sitting facing away from her under a tree. Probably beating himself up for crossing a boundary that he actually hadn't crossed. So picking her way carefully through the underbrush she made her way to him to set him right.

 

“Drummer,” his rough voice called out into the night. “I told you to go back to the van.” He didn’t sound like he was up fighting her about it. Good.

 

“Yeah, well..” she said as she finally made it to the tree he was sitting under. “You’re being an idiot,” she finished playfully as she looked down at him. 

 

Surprise was evident on his face even in the dim moonlight. He sat forward and started, asking  “Wha-”

 

Her voice was careful as she interrupted him “I wasn’t pulling away because I didn’t want you to do anything.” 

 

His brows raised over his glasses in surprise and confusion. “Then?” he trailed off, uncertain if he should continue. 

 

Sighing, Amanda looked out into the darkness around them. “We’ve never talked about it. Us. And I didn’t want us to do something before we had.” She resettled her arms around her, “If anything, I wanted to you do something a little too much. I needed to put the brakes on”

 

The only noise she got in response was a slightly mystified “huh” and it made her smile. When she looked down at him he had sagged back against the tree.

 

Pulling off his glasses he rubbed at his face. “Sorry Drummer. It’s been a long day.” He sighed tiredly as he put his glasses back on and continued, “First your attack where something felt off, then you smelled so tempting.” He looked up at her and flashed one of his wolfish smiles. It had the desired effect of making her blush and look away so that he missed the way his face fell as he recalled what happened next. “Then you passed out or nearly did. Scared the shit outta us.” 

 

It was Amanda’s turn to apologize, “Sorry. I should have listened to you.” 

 

“Yes, you should’ve.” Martin said with no humor. When she scoffed, he snapped, “No more arguing with us about it.” When she didn’t say anything he continued. “We’ll know before you do if something ain’t right but you gotta listen to us when we think you need to rest.”

 

“Fine,” she sighed. 

 

A cold hand gripped her elbow and brought her attention back to Martin, “I mean it Amanda. We can’t lose you.” He pulled himself up to stand before her. “I can’t lose you. Not when I just got you.”

 

His cold hands came up to cup her flushed cheeks and waited. Realizing what he wanted, Amanda licked her lips and nodded. She was surprised with how warm his lips were against hers. She gave a little sigh at the contact and got a small growl in response from Martin. 

 

When she carefully reached up and gripped his vest to pull him closer he deepened the kiss and pressed her gently against the tree. Under its branches and the waning moon they shared the first of many kisses. 

 

\--------------------------

 

“Epilogue” 

Later when they finally pull back, breathless...

 

“We still need to talk.”

 

“Hmm…yes. Later.”

 

“Martin…”

 

“Oh...Ok...Later works.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna thank shut-up-math for posting comic pages with Martin macing on this lady and Setmeatopthepyre for her He's Tall as Hell(Kisses like it Too) mix. Both things inspired me to start this even if it took a different path to get where I wanted in the end. 
> 
> You can find them on tumblr! Check them out, they are both awesome.


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